TIPS AND TECHNIQUES

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Well I'm back from a much relaxed time out. I was at the cottage and it is always so nice when I don't have the phone ringing and everyday hustle of normal home life. We went to a few festivals and weather was picture perfect. We were even able to watch parts of the eclipse between clouds. It was so awesome. I only made a few cards as I was more motivated to go to festivals and antique shops. First up...I mentioned that I would do a Sizzix Flip it card in a Christmas theme and here it is:

Wish I could tell you what paper I used but I can't. There was no name on it and I got it at the LSS in Door County, but isn't it cute? All little hats and mittens and I love that they threw in the color blue with the reds and greens. The snowman stamp is one of the cube stamps from Northwoods. Those little guys are just so adorable. The inside sentiment is also from Northwoods. The next card is using the same paper. Old olive is the base and cherry cobbler is the first layer.

This set of snowmen are also Northwoods stamps but individual ones, each approximately 2x2. I decided not to color these since the background paper is so busy so instead I just added some bling to their pompoms on their hats. I sponged alittle Old Olive around the edges.That's it for the snowmen cards. Stay tuned for another Christmas card tomorrow.Til Then......HAPPY CARDING!!

Thursday, September 17, 2015

This is going to be short and sweet since I'm only minutes away from hitting the road again and going back to the cabin for awhile. There are a bunch of fall festivals that I always attend and I sure don't want to miss out this year! LOL So real quick here are the rest of the Halloween cards we made over last weekend.

Top left card is a new Die June bought. The original card we saw was for Christmas but we turned it into a Halloween card. I think the background paper we used was a bit busy but kids would like it. The card on right is a simple Z-fold and I really just literally slapped this one together with scraps. Bottom cards as you can tell we used Stampin Ups owl punch. Love that punch! We C.A.S.E.D that card from the Internet. The middle card is a typical 4.25x5.5 tent card laid on it side and we removed the top 2". The last card is another Flip it card. Loving these dies!Well that's it ....gotta go...LOL.....CRAFT FAIR TIME!!Hope I don't spend a fortune! Heeheehee...yeah right!HAPPY CARDING!!

Well our weekend was productive! June and I made all our Halloween cards, played around with some new Dies, shopped at both of Oscars Rubber stamp stores and spent way too much money but.....we had a real good time. Though our eating habits weren't the greatest I was able to drag June around to some special highlights of Door County. (She's never been there) Our adventure included the Door County Bakery for Corsica bread, Al Johnson's Swedish restaurant with goats on the roof for Swedish pancakes, The Door County Confectionery for un-needed but yummy candy (for us and the grandkids lol), The Yum Yum Tree for Capt. Baileys Ice Cream, Koepsels for smoked fish and cheese, and Kitty O'Rieleys for corned beef Mac and Cheese. Whew...I'm exhausted all over again! Anyway......we made cards in the evenings between star watching (not for long...it was freezing out!) and Kahlua! heehee.Ok...back on track....First up. Circle Flip it cards.

Super simple with the flip it die. I think the only stamping we did to these was the Happy Halloween inside the card LOL. Next up was a technique card.

We used black for the base and glossy for the 1 layer. We first we masked off a border top and bottom then we stamped the birds on a branch and added a circle of yellow, then masked off the yellow to add orange around the circle as well as bringing some of that orange across the middle section. Keeping moon mask on glossy paper we then swiped some deep purple covering over the orange and then added a little black to the edges on left and right. Removed the masking tape from the top and bottom and the moon and then stamped Happy Halloween. I really like this card and it's 1 layer!! I'm going to be making more of this type in the future.Well dinner time is creeping up so until next time....HAPPY CARDING!!

Monday, September 14, 2015

LOL...Not The Oscars! Oscars Door County Rubber Stamp and Scrapbook Event! My friend June and I went up to my cottage so that we could attend a coloring class sponsored by Oscars and taught by the Northwoods Stamp founders and creators Pat and Paul Niemuth. We signed up for the Halloween Extravaganza. Sooooo much fun!!! We learned their glittering techniques and the bluish purple hue that surrounds all their finished stamped images. So ridiculously easy with right products! All images were stamped with black color box and embossed with a 50/50 blend of detail black and detail clear embossing powder. They say it makes the black not so flat looking. They also used their watercolor paper available on their web site and at Oscars. (see Northwoods post for links to both stores.) All coloring was done with Tombow markers. I personally have not found a better water color paper EVER. I highly recommend it. Though I shall say I usually only use Tombow markers and Tim Holtz markers. I cannot guarantee the out come if you use other markers. Some people who have Stampin up markers or Marvy may want to experiment and share a pack to see if those markers work as well on the paper. I know I have used my markers on some regular smooth water color paper from the art section at Michael's and I cannot get the blending to work. I instead end up with really sharp edges that just won't blend out. Everyone has different experiences so it's kind of trial and error but Tombow definitely work on this paper. Also they NEVER use a blending pen. Only a brush and water. Here are the 4 we did:

I wish the sparkle picked up in the photos but trust me they are sparkly! I kind of wish now that June and I took some of the Christmas classes just for the fun of it. It was such a treat meeting Pat and Paul! Well that's all for now. O need to gather up my other Halloween cards so I can show you the rest of our weekend. Til then........

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Oh my goodness guys I'm so excited. I am a big fan of the Northwoods line of rubber stamps and the Local stamp store near my cottage frequently sponsors workshops featuring Northwoods stamps and the coloring techniques for the stamps by founder Pat Niemuth. It just so happens that Pat and Oscar (owner of local stamp store) have been friends since High School. In fact Pat got Oscar started with her store up north about 25 years ago.(give or take) So being friends...Oscar is able to get Pat to come up to Door County and teach the coloring of Northwoods stamps. I am usually not up there when Pat comes to town but this time..............................WooHoo.........I'm going to be there and I signed up for the Halloween stamp coloring class. We will be making 4 different cards and learning a wonderful technique. Class is on Saturday the 12th. I will post all 4 cards and let you all know how it went. I wish I could afford all the classes. This is an entire weekend of cards! I think there are 4 different coloring classes each with a different theme and then there are 2 or 3 of the DreamWeaver classes where you learn the technique of using stencils and paste and gold leaf. All the classes would be worthwhile but I have to budget myself. I just spent a mint at the expo last week. I have a ton of the Northwoods stamps and have always admired how Pat did the coloring for her display boards like this one:

I love how she does the bluish shadow around her images. She also uses Art Glitter on all her cards which she had previously used Stickles. You really need to check out this line of stamps. She use to sell these at Archivers until they closed down and now she sell them online at her online store. As far as I know Door County Rubber Stamp Store is the only current store that carries the entire line of these stamps year round. To see more of Northwoods stamps go to: http://www.northwoodsrubberstamps.com/default.aspxThe Halloween Boards are awesome and I can't wait to start coloring!!I shall be returning the 13th so hopefully I'll get something uploaded the 14th.

Thursday, September 3, 2015

Today I'm so excited to share with you my new love of stamping! Stamping tiles that is! I was at farmers market up north where they not only had farm goods but they also had crafty stuff. One of the booths had these adorable coasters with images on them. I looked closely and I realized one of the coasters actually had been stamped with a stamp that I already have! Hmmmm...interesting...and they were selling for $19 per set of 4. Hmmm...again! So I thought????? I bet they used Stazon. So as soon as I got home I dug out some stamps, went to the Home Depot where you can get a stack of these 9 for $3.99.

The one on the left is actually the same size as the one on the right it's just that the left is stacked 9 high. These are 4x4" square tiles with no glaze on them ideal for coasters. Not all the tile in the pack are the same, some are holier than others but they all work.You must use Stazon for this project. I am not sure how permanent other inks would be. Wipe the tile with a dry cloth then ink your stamp and firmly press onto tile holding for about 10 seconds. Lift straight up and set tile aside. When all your stamping is completed, place tiles on the wire rack inside your cold oven. Set temperature to 350* and bake for about 25 minutes. Leave door closed at all times. After 25 min. turn oven off and let it totally cool down BEFORE opening door. Usually takes about an hour to cool down. Tiles may still be quite warm after that (mine were). I left mine in the oven after I turned it off for like 3 hours because silly me decided to clean! LOL Then remove tiles to another cooling rack. When tiles are completely cold attach little felt or cork pieces to backs so not to scratch furniture. Put a set together with some ribbon wrapped around them and Voila! Awesome gifts!!!

I cannot wait to try a whole bunch!!! Guess what I'm giving for Christmas!!

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Hello!! Ready for a super simple adorable fold??? I'm not sure if this is new or just new to me but it's an Envelope fold card. I know what your thinking...envelope fold cards have been around forever! But wait!!! Those are cards that look like an envelope and you open it up into a full size sheet of paper like a letter. That is not what this is. This card looks like an envelope, yes, but the triangle flap is the only thing that opens revealing the interior of the card.

It is made with an 11x11 sheet of double sided paper. Fold in half one way crease, then open..rotate.. and fold in half the other way and crease.(as in photo 1) Open it back up and with the printed side that you want on the inside facing up, take each corner and bring to the middle and crease.Pic 2) Turn over so folded triangles are now facing down and fold the card in half and crease.(pic 3) Take 1 of the loose triangles (either side is fine) and flip it to the opposite side gluing the 2 triangles together.(pic 4&5) This is making the front flap of the card. Open the flap to put your sentiment and decorate the outside of the card.(pic 6) Punch a hole in the card through all layers near the point. Add ribbon and tie a bow to close the card. This card when finished measures 3 14/16" x 7 14/16". Odd size I know, but it's still a cute card that you could just hand to a person instead of mailing. Then you can go all out on the embellishing! You could even slide a gift card inside. Super cute.TADA!!!And this is the finished card!

I have no idea why my camera is making the color so goofy looking...I swear it's really cute in real life! LOL I'm going to make some Christmas cards with this fold too. Can't wait!! So stay tuned I'll be posting them soon.HAPPY CARDING!!

About Me

Mother of 2 and grandmother of 2. We live where seasons have changes and to keep myself busy during the cold months I tend to work on alot of papercrafts. Cards are my ultimate favorite. I love creating and surfing the web looking for ideas and video's from fellow cardmakers.